The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) offers basic information on mental health disorders and related topics for patients, their families, healthcare professionals and the public. Higher quantities of materials are available for free now and can be ordered here. Be sure to do this as soon as possible if you are interested as we do not know the number of supplies that are being offered.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released groundbreaking rules that will let patients download their electronic health records and other health care data onto their smartphones. “Patients should have control of their records, period. Now that’s becoming a reality,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “These rules are the start of a new chapter in how patients experience American health care.”  Officials said the rules likely will give patients a greater say in health care decisions and put an end to a long-standing practice in which some doctors and hospitals resist handing complete medical files over to patients upon demand.

The ONC final rule:

• Establishes new rules to prevent “information blocking” practices (e.g., anti-competitive behaviors) by healthcare providers, developers of certified health IT, health information exchanges and health information networks.
• Requires electronic health records to provide standardized, core data elements through the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) such as clinical notes, allergies and medications, to help improve the flow of electronic health information and ensure that the information can be effectively understood when it is received.
• Establishes secure, standards-based application programming interface (API) requirements to support a patient’s access and control of their electronic health information.

The CMS Interoperability and Patient Access final rule:

• Requires health plans in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and through the federal Exchanges to share claims data electronically with patients effective Jan. 1, 2021.
• Requires that patients must be able to access their medical records on a smartphone at no cost and share those records as they choose.
• Requires insurers to advise patients of their network of health providers through an app effective Jan. 1, 2021.
• Establishes a new Condition of Participation (CoP) for all Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals, requiring them to send electronic notifications to another healthcare facility or community provider or practitioner when a patient is admitted, discharged or transferred.
• Requires states to send enrollee data daily beginning April 1, 2022 for beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, improving the coordination of care for this population.

Many of the provisions are set to take effect in 2022. While some are applauding the new rules, others have raised concerns about privacy as technology companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, open up new markets for providing medical records through mobile apps.

Read more.

With doctors on the front lines against the threat of coronavirus, National Doctors’ Day coming up on March 30 and “physician” being the highest-paid job of 2019, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst States for Doctors as well as accompanying videos.

To identify the best states for those in the business of saving lives, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key metrics. The data set ranges from average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to quality of public hospital system.

Best vs. Worst:

• Mississippi has the highest average annual wage for surgeons (adjusted for cost of living), $313,491, which is 2.1 times higher than in the California, the lowest at $152,850.
• Minnesota has the lowest number of physicians per 1,000 residents, 1.09, which is 6.2 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at 6.71.
• Florida has the highest projected share of the population aged 65 and older by 2030, 27.08 percent, which is two times higher than in Utah, the lowest at 13.21 percent.
• Wisconsin has the lowest annual malpractice liability insurance rate, $6,699, which is 6.1 times lower than in New York, the highest at $40,826.

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-doctors/11376/

Accepting applications through Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. ET

Apply to the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program today.

The Nurse Corps Scholarship Program (Nurse Corps SP) provides funding to students enrolled in diploma, associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree nursing programs. The award is in exchange for a commitment to serve in high-need, underserved communities. Scholarship support includes payment of tuition, required fees, other reasonable educational costs, and a monthly living stipend.

After graduation, scholarship recipients fulfill their service commitment at an approved health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses. Each scholar serves for a minimum of two years and receives one year of financial support (up to four years) for each additional year of service.

This year, Nurse Corps anticipates making up to 20 percent of awards to nurse practitioner students specializing in psychiatric mental health. This group is at the forefront of national efforts to combat substance use disorder. There is also special funding for nursing students specializing in women’s health.

Apply Here.

Before you apply

Before you apply, read the annually updated Application and Program Guidance. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions of the Nurse Corps contract, which outlines the requirement for fulfilling your minimum two years of service at an eligible critical shortage facility.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a scholarship, all applicants must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen (born or naturalized), a national, or a lawful permanent resident;
2. Be enrolled—or accepted for enrollment—in a professional nursing degree program at an accredited school of nursing in the U.S.;
3. Begin classes no later than September 30, 2020;
4. Be free from any federal judgment liens;
5. Be free from any other existing service commitment;
6. Not be overdue on a federal debt.

Application Help

To learn more about the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program and its application process, join us for a webinar and technical assistance call. Prepare for these sessions by reading the Application and Program Guidance.

Webinar
Thursday, March 26, 3-4:30 p.m. ET
Dial-in: 1-888-455-2923
Passcode: 9998967
Access Link

Technical Assistance Call
Thursday, April 16, 3-4:30 p.m. ET
Dial-in: 1-888-455-2923
Passcode: 9998967

Rural Emergency Medical Services Integration Guide is a guide for rural EMS considering collaboration and integration with other organizations. This document is a practical guide for ambulance services (agencies) to use in their pursuit of sustaining effective and efficient delivery of patient care and developing into an integrated system with other agencies. Integration is intended to provide and sustain improved patient care by capitalizing on efficiencies. It will provide insights into various means, which have been used by agencies within the industry to promote integration between agencies to the benefit of the agencies, the staff, and, most importantly, to the patients.

HHS Issues Strategy to Reduce EHR Regulatory Burden. As part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Patients over Paperwork initiative, the Department on Friday, February 21, issued the Strategy on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs. The report describes recommendations and next steps to reduce burden related to EHRs and describes sources of electronic health record (EHR)-related burden, referencing stakeholder feedback including challenges relevant to small and rural hospitals.

EMS is stretched so thin in rural Pennsylvania that some ambulance calls are going unanswered…Read more

Based on findings of a new report, state officials will not award a statewide brokerage contract and will continue to study how to best administer the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) that aids low-income Pennsylvanians who need nonemergency medical transportation, at least in the short term. The Department of Human Services (DHS) has released its report on the potential impact of MATP being administered by regional brokers for all regions of the commonwealth. DHS oversees the entire MATP and the commonwealth offers and provides funding for MATP in all 67 counties.  To read the full report, click here.

The Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2019 (S. 2986) was introduced in the U.S. Senate in December to create a coordinated approach among federal agencies to address social determinants of health (SDOH) for Medicaid recipients.  The act, if it becomes law, would establish a federal interagency council that would make recommendations on how best to coordinate funding and the administration of federal programs incorporating the use of data to better meet the needs and improve the care for Medicaid recipients.  The council would work to award “Social Determinants Accelerator Grants” to state or local governments or tribal health or human services agencies to fund “programs that would seek to benefit targeted populations, seeking to access and link relevant data to enable coordinated benefits and services that would achieve at least one measurable health outcome and one important social benefit.” Read more.